9/5/06
Thomson/RCA Unbelievable customer support!
I got a RCA DVD Recorder/VCR combo for Christmas 2005.By April it was not playing or recording half as good as it should. Around May I decided that I would try and get it fixed. Guess what. Thompson/RCA now requires the customer to deliver the unit to a qualified service center.
I called RCA and they gave me 2 service centers. Both were 50 miles from my home, the closest. I decided since gas was so high I would mail it to the center. I cost around $10 to ship it. I waited around a week and called the "service" center. They asked why I sent it to them. I told them Thomson had directed me to send it to them. They agreed to work on it because I said Thomson told me to send it. I waited another week and had no response from the "service" center. I called again and was told that the service center got an email that day from their head office to not work on any more RCA equipment, and that I needed to come get it.
I immediately called the Thomson toll free number and was given about 5 more "service centers". This time I called the centers first and all of them told me they no longer worked on RCA. I re-called Thomson again and was given 2 more centers to contact. I told the customer support rep that I was a little tired of chasing service centers and it seemed to me that RCA should chase the centers down and see which ones of them still worked on RCA and then contact me with the ones that did. They said that's not the way it works.
Luckily one of the two centers above said they did work on RCA and just bring it in. I called the first center and asked since I had been misled by Thomson and spent money shipping it to them, would they just ship to the new "service" center. They agreed.
I waited a week or so with no response so I decided to call the new service center. I called and talked to the owner and explained what was wrong with the unit and he said he would get right on it. I waited about a week and called again. He again said he hasn't had time to look at it but give him a few days and he would check it out. I waited and called the following Saturday. He answered and told me he didn't understand why it was still at his shop, that he had checked it out and placed a sticker on it to be replaced by RCA. He said the girl that handled the replacement was off on Saturday and he would put a note on it for here to handle it Monday.
I called back Monday and a woman answered the phone with Hello. I asked if this was Bill's Tv. She said of course this is Bill's Tv! I replied with I wasn't sure, you just said hello, not hello this is Bill's TV, may I help you? She then replied, What do you need? I told her I had a DVD recorder there and that I had talked to the owner Saturday and he said she would get on it Monday. I also told her I had a Case number to look it up but she put me on hold before she heard it.
She returned and asked me what my name was. I told her and was put on hold again. She finally returned and told me there was no units there under my name. I told her I had talked to the owner 2 days ago about it and he said it was to be replaced by RCA. She finally asked me for a Case number. I replied that I had tried to give it to her the first time we talked. She then replied that she didn't have to listen to me talk to her that way. I said let me talk to the owner. She said he was not there. I said can you page him or something because I'm tired of the run-a-round I have been getting in regards to this units repair. She hung up on me!
I called back and asked her name. She replied Serena. I asked for the owner's name. She said Conrad. She then said she didn't want to talk to me anymore. I said I didn't want to talk to her anymore either, but that I wanted my DVD replaced & returned, NOW! She hung up again.
I immediately called RCA again and reported this confrontational service center. The RCA rep called her, with me on the line, and she said I hung up on her while she was trying to help me. She said she did find the unit and it was to be replaced and that she had faxed the information needed to RCA that day. He asked her to fax the information again to him, and verified the fax number, to RCA to get the unit replacement started. She said she would fax it again. That was 2 weeks ago. He hung up and said to call him in a few days with the update.
I called in about a week and the RCA customer center rep told me that they were still waiting on the fax from Bill's Tv to replace it. I went over with him all the trouble I was having and he assured me he would get to the bottom of it and as soon as he found out something he would call.
I have heard nothing as of today so I called RCA again. The rep told me they still have not received the Fax. I've had it! I asked for a Supervisor. She said none were there. I said I couldn't believe that a company as big as Thomson did not have any supervisors available. She said a supervisor wouldn't tell me anything different that she did. I told her that she didn't know what a supervisor might tell me and that if she didn't put me thru to a supervisor that I would call every five minutes today until one answered. She put me on hold for about 10 minutes and a supervisor answered the phone.
I explained to him the problems I was having and guess what? He told me he would look into it and someone would be calling me soon.
An RCA service center has had my DVD since 6/28/06, nearly 3 months. I have made dozen's of calls to service centers. I have mad more dozens of calls to the toll free RCA service center. I have not spoken to two customer service agents that say the same thing. I have NOT been contacted once by RCA. I have to deliver my unit to the center and pick it up from the center, about a 150 mile journey.
What is up with customer service these days? It's more like sell it and forget it!
Brent
wood, Texas
U.S.A.
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